Faculty
Stepping Stones Program
Angela Chang is the Lead Teacher for our Stepping Stones Program at our Bridgewater facility. She has her B.A. in Art History from Colgate University and has been working at Raritan Valley Montessori and in other aspects of the childcare field since 2005.
Primary Program
Joanna Byra is a Co-Teacher in the Primary Program at The Cherry Blossom and has a Master's Degree in Economics. She has worked as a child care provider and studied English as a second language at Seton Hall University. After becoming a US Citizen, Joanna began working for CBM in 2006. She obtained her Early Childhood certification from Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE).
Stacy Catoggio is a Lead Teacher in the Primary Program and is the Kindergarten Enrichment Teacher at our Hillsborough site. She has worked at The Cherry Blossom Montessori School since 1996. Stacy completed her Montessori training at New Gate School in Sarasota, Florida.
Lynda Duffy has her B.S. in Education from NYU and a Master's degree in Special Education from Kean College. She has taught in both public and private schools. Lynda is an Assistant Teacher for the Primary Program at our Bridgewater location. She joined RVM as a substitute teacher when her children started in 2004.
Linda Freitag is a Co-Teacher in the Primary Program at The Cherry Blossom. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and completed her Montessori early childhood education and certification through The Christopher Academy, where her Montessori philosophic research paper was recommended for publication by Head of School. Linda launched her full-time Montessori career in 2001 at Raritan Valley Montessori in Bridgewater, NJ and is now in her tenth year of teaching.
Stacey Murray joined our Bridgewater Primary Program in 2011 as an Assistant Teacher. Prior to joining RVM, she worked as a Certified Human Resources Professional specializing in Training/Development, and Payroll/Benefits with JPMorgan Chase Bank for 13 years. Stacey was introduced to the Montessori Education in 2003 where she served as Classroom Parent, Field Trip and Fund Raising Organizer, and Librarian at other Montessori schools.
Nancy Tamburello has a B.A. in Psychology from the University of San Diego. She is a Head Teacher in the Primary Program at the Hillsborough site. Nancy has her American Montessori credential in Early Childhood Education for ages 3-6 from Princeton Center for Teacher Education. She has been with our schools since 2003.
Carrie Ward has a B.A. in Art History from Rutgers University. She is a Head Teacher for the Primary Program at our Bridgewater Site. Carrie teaches Kindergarten and Elementary Fine Arts at our Bridgewater location and Elementary drama at our Hillsborough site. She is certified by the American Montessori Society in Early Childhood Education for ages 3-6 from the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE). Carrie has been with the school since 2005.
Elementary Program
Grace Kochanik is a Co-Teacher in our Bridgewater Lower Elementary. She attended the Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE). Grace has a B.S. degree in Computer Science from Seton Hall University. Before joining our staff in 2005, she was part of our parent community and taught computers for more than ten years.
Tamara Mount is the Head Teacher in the Elementary Program at The Cherry Blossom Montessori School. She has a B.A. in English and Environmental Science from the University of Virginia. She obtained her Elementary Montessori Teacher Certification from Princeton Center for Teacher Education (PCTE). Tamara had a 10 year career as a management consultant in Washington, D.C. where she headed up the hotline for the Environmental Protection Agency and managed a staff of 50 consultants. She then became a trainer at The Seeing Eye, working with blind people and dogs helping them to become partners. Tamara has returned to Montessori, after having attended Montessori from age two until third grade. She has been with the school, first as a parent, since 2003.
Regina Randon is the Lead Teacher in our Upper Elementary Program at our Bridgewater site. She has her American Montessori credential for teaching ages 6-9 and 9-12 from the Center for Montessori Teacher Education. Regina has been teaching for over 10 years. She has taught in New York and New Jersey. Regina developed Physical Education programs for grades 1 through 8. She also planned and coordinated special art projects to enhance classroom learning and behavior.
Carol Young is the Head Teacher in the Upper Elementary Program at our Hillsborough site. She has been a Montessori directress for over three decades. Carol has a B.S. degree in both education and science from Murray State University. She is AMI certified in ages 3 to 12 years old and AMS certified in ages 12-15. Carol is experienced as a Montessori consultant, curriculum director and teacher trainer. She has been traveling and setting up Montessori Elementary Programs in New Mexico, Arizona and Florida for over ten years.
Afterschool Program
Cindy Fonzetti has been with The Cherry Blossom Montessori since 2000. Cindy has a bachelor's degree in Early Childhood Education, has been teaching pre-school children for 31 years and has supervised after-school programs for elementary children. She opened our first Stepping Stones Program at CBM and has worked as a Co-Teacher in the Primary Program. She is currently the Head of our Afterschool Programs at The Cherry Blossom.
Specials
Nancy Cesta joined our staff in 2005 and is responsible for Stepping Stone, Primary and Elementary music education at both the Hillsborough and Bridgewater sites. She earned her B.A. in Psychology with a concentration in Marketing from Muhlenberg College. Music has always been the main course in her life, through the many years of studying piano, vocal performance and extensive study of music theory in college. Prior to joining our staff, Nancy spent over 15 years as a market researcher.